James Bearden was many things, graphic designer, art director, painter
- but he has really found his calling in welding industrial metal into
abstract sculptures - which are often based on nature though - sculptures
that Bearden himself often prefers to be mounted on walls as if to defy
gravity - putting further emphasis on their abstract nature. James
Bearden: Master of Metals takes a rather unorthodox approach to the
artist and his work, as it does not present the artist as a talking head
who talks us through his works of art, but shows the master at work, the
creation of one of his creations, has the camera lovingly pan over the
surfaces of some of his works of art, and at times the whole film seems to
dissolve into abstract shapes altogether, which not all that surprisingly
makes perfect sense combined with the abstract structures the film is
about. The finished product is an above all visually fascinating and for a
documentary unexpectedly atmospheric piece of film - that however does
capture the spirit of James Bearden's body of work. Recommended.
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